Town planners in running for national award

A planning guide adopted by four local councils in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire is in the running for a national award from the Royal Town Planning Institute.

The guide, called Successful Places: A Guide to Sustainable Housing Layout and Design, has been shortlisted in the Innovative Planning Practice in Plan Making category.

This document has been adopted by Bassetlaw District Council, Bolsover District Council, Chesterfield Borough Council and North East Derbyshire District Council in the last year. It brings together planning guidance which addresses a number of issues to make sure new residential developments are better places to live, including:

Have a high design quality

Are more sustainable places in which to live

Designed with sensitivity to their surroundings, such as historic buildings and biodiversity

Have a stronger sense of character and identity

Provides convenient places that meets the practical and social needs of residents – such as making access to local amenities easier

Are designed to be safer and more secure

Phil Smith, Urban Design Officer, who submitted the award on behalf of all four councils said: “The Successful Places planning document helps developers to plan homes which meet the demands of residents in the 21st century.

“Working in partnership with other councils in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, we have successfully developed a document we are proud of and has been recognised by developers and interested parties.

“We are hopeful as we enter into the awards process.”

The team will find out if they are successful at an awards ceremony to be held at The Shaw Theatre in the Pullman London St Pancras on 23 June 2014. Chairing the panel of 24 expert judges is Sir Terry Farrell, one the world’s leading architect planners. Sir Terry is also author of the recent Farrell Review, a UK government-commissioned review of architecture and the built environment.

The document was also shortlisted in the design excellence category of the Urban Design Group awards in January.

Below is a list of the current public notices that we have published in the local, regional and national media over the last four weeks.
Week Commencing: 27th July 2015
Planning Application No. 15/0...